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December 22, 2000 9:00 AM, EST

Contract talks are progressing between the Teamsters and Overnite Transportation Co. and could be wrapped up by early in 2001, union officials said.

A contract is “approximately 80% tentatively agreed to now,” a spokesman for the Teamsters said late this week. Talks are scheduled to resume Jan. 3 in Washington, D.C.

A spokeswoman for Richmond, Va.-based Overnite said a comprehensive contract proposal offered by the union on Dec. 13 was “still unacceptable.” The company offered a counterproposal, she said, and will implement pay increases for its nonunion employees Jan. 1.

The Teamsters represent employees at 21 of 166 Overnite terminals and have been on strike since October 1999 to protest the lack of progress in negotiating a contract.

For the full story, see the Dec. 25 print edition of Transport Topics. .